What do Tamar Braxton’s “All the Way Home,” Chris Brown’s “Fine China” and Ariana Grande’s “The Way” all have in common? The answer is Sevyn Streeter; she co-wrote each of the chart-toppers.
Those three songs only scratch the surface of the number of hits she’s written. But the artist doesn’t give away all of her masterpieces. She keeps some tracks for herself, too.
Debuting her very first EP, Call Me Crazy, But…, earlier this month, the seven-track release topped the Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at number 5 and hit the top 10 on iTunes overall albums chart.
The budding star took a break from her tour with K. Michelle to chat with JET about her latest and upcoming projects and her dreams of becoming the JET Beauty of the Week.
JET: How’d you come up with the title of your EP?
Sevyn Streeter: I feel like a lot of times, you go through it with the person you’re in a relationship with. Sometimes, he looks at you and he goes ,”Oh she’s crazy! She’s acting crazy today!” Or she goes, “Oh my god! He’s crazy! Girl, can you believe he’s crazy?” There have been so many times we’ve had that conversation with our girlfriends or have been called that. If you really talk to them or the person you’re calling crazy, they’ll explain it to you. “Call me crazy, but I have my reasons for being this way or saying what I said,” or “call me crazy, but you made me a promise and broke it.” So when you listen to the songs on the EP, it definitely breaks down all of the “call me crazies, but.”
JET: You’re on the road with K. Michelle for the Rebellious Soul tour. What’s the experience been like?
SS: The tour is great! I’m excited. The audience is always crazy. K’s show is absolutely ridiculous – with her “sangin” self (laughs). Tiara Thomas just joined the tour. Tiara puts on an amazing show. She’s up there with her guitar, and she’s “sangin.” And I get up there with my dancers, and I “sang.” We just have a really good time on the tour. It’s great.
JET: What’s your favorite song to perform?
SS: Hmm…My favorite song to perform is hard to pick. Let’s see. What mood am I in today in terms of all of my songs? Today, my favorite song to perform is probably going to be “Call Me Crazy, But…” The energy of it is crazy. The dancing and the choreography is just so much fun. I just like the attitude behind that record.
JET: The EP is out. When can we expect a full album?
SS: If I had to guess, it would be sometime next year. The thing with me and actually picking dates is I write a lot of my own stuff, and I write according to how I feel. I may just go through something, and start writing away. Then, I may feel like we have the right records and right compilations of records, and the album may come out at the top of the year. I don’t know. It’s all about a vibe and where I am in my life that determines when music comes out for me. Even with my EP, some of those are real stories that I’ve been through. We couldn’t have rushed them if we wanted to. They were organic. I feel the same way about my album.
JET: You’ve been in a couple of girl groups, TG4 and RichGirl, before becoming a solo artist. What’s the difference between being amongst others and working on your own?
SS: There are a couple of differences. One is that I’m excited about being able to fully express myself. Everything that comes to mind, I get to write. If I have a certain amount of dancing I really want to try and experiment with, I can. It feels great to not put yourself in a box. It’s cool. I love learning new things. Another thing is that you have to get to a place where you’re comfortable enough with yourself to try different things. It definitely has been a coming of age story for me. I feel like I’ve learned how to rely on myself a lot more. It was very necessary for me to figure out who I am.
JET: What can we expect from you in 2014?
SS: Just some more “sangin” (laughs). I want to put out more songs, and get more creative and experiment with videos. I want to push myself in terms of choreography. I want to write more songs for other artists. I want to do more collaborations with other artists. I want to do everything I can get my hands on.
JET: Your music videos are hot, especially when you go through the chair in the “I Like It” video!
SS: Ayyye! Girl, that chair killed us all. Trust me. It was not a doozy.
For “It Won’t Stop,” it was a little different. It had a laid back and chill vibe. It was cold out there. We had to keep it hot and sexy, but we had a great time. Earlier in the day, it was a little breezy but it was nice. Man, that sun went down, and it was so cold at night. They put us by the fire, so we were alright.
JET: Is there anything else you’d like to share with JET readers?
SS: I love JET, and I want to be the JET Beauty of the Week (laughs). I remember one time at my grandma’s house, I took all of the JET magazines and just opened them up to the JET Beauties of the Week, and I just always thought that they were so dope. Y’all should do Artist JET Beauty of the Week. That would be fun!
To learn more about Sevyn Streeter, visit her website sevynstreeter.com and follow her on Twitter at @Sevyn.
